Cliff Heating Plant Update: Construction of Cliff Temporary Boiler Plant Complete

January 28, 2010

Construction of a temporary boiler plant adjacent to the Cliff Central Heating and Cooling Plant (in the parking lot beside the Supreme Court of Canada) is nearing completion. The four boilers installed in the temporary plant are now the primary heat source for all of the roughly 50,000 federal employees located in the 52 buildings on the Cliff Plant distribution system. There are also currently five temporary boilers that were installed at the Gatineau Plant last fall serving as the back-up steam supply for the Cliff Temporary Boiler Plant.

Before completion of the Cliff Temporary Boiler Plant, PWGSC had implemented a steam management program to ensure that all buildings on the original Cliff Plant distribution system received at least the minimum amount of steam required to remain open. With the temporary boiler plant now online all buildings are receiving full heating services, as well as necessary levels of chilled water.

Getting the temporary boiler plant up and running before the colder weather set in was a major priority for PWGSC. Without it, federal operations in downtown office buildings (including the Parliament Buildings) were at risk of being disrupted. Continued federal operations required the emergency construction of the temporary boiler plant through direct negotiation. The dollar value rates of the services acquired through these contracts have been found to be similar to contracts awarded through public tenders.

The total cost to construct the temporary boiler plant was $21.6 million and involved the following services:

  • Civil engineering (e.g., construction of a concrete slab, installation of the drainage system and design of the building structure).
  • Mechanical engineering (e.g., installation of pipes, controls and boilers).
  • Electrical engineering (e.g., installation of power supply for new equipment).
  • Architectural (e.g., construction of the building).

Clean-up of the Cliff Plant is ongoing. The chiller section has been completed, whereas work on the boiler section is expected to continue until spring 2010. The cost of the tendered contract for the asbestos clean-up is expected to be around $20 million. PWGSC is currently assessing impacts and costs, and developing plans for consideration to replace the Cliff Plant’s capacity for the long term. Investigations into the cause of the explosion are ongoing.

Construction of the Cliff Temporary Heating Plant, and ensuring ongoing federal operations in the interim, has involved incredible effort on the part of many PWGSC employees and contractors. The Department sincerely thanks these individuals and recognizes that the progress being reported today would not have been possible without them.

For more information, contact:

Public Works and Government Services Canada
Media Relations
819-956-2315